Advertising sign for the interior of a vehicle



March 10, 1959 R. L. HARRINGTON 2,876,566

ADVERTISING SIGN FOR THE INTERIOR OF A VEHICLE Filed July 21, 1955 "a l mas will A 22 j FIG.7

I V I6 s\\\\\\\\\\\\\\& INVENTOR R. L.HARR|NG TO N FIG. 4 FIG, 6

BY I ,2;

4 ATTORNEY UnitedStates Patent 2,876,566 ADVERTISING SIGN FOR THE INTERIOR OF A VEHICLE Robert L. Harrington, Tuscaloosa, Ala.

Application July 21, 1955, Serial No. 523,466

1 Claim. (CI. 40-40) This invention relates to the merchandising of commodities and more particularly to advertising including the display of signs in places frequented by the public and used to remind the public of the advertisers and the goods advertised.

The invention relates specifically to an advertising sign for location in a public place, as for example, on the rear side of the front seat of an automobile so that it will be conspicuously located in front of passengers riding in the rear of the automobile.

Advertising signs of various kinds have been employed for holding and framing advertising material. However, these have not been satisfactory because they were massive and cumbersome, complicated and expensive, and did not provide a neat and attractive sign which could be conveniently located on the rear side of the front seat for ready visibility by anyone in the rear seat of a taxicab or other vehicle.

It is an object of the invention to overcome the objections above enumerated and to provide an advertising sign for use in the interior of a vehicle which is of simple and inexpensive construction, relatively light in weight, can be easily applied and removed in a minimum of time and which is of neat, attractive appearance and will give a favorable impression of the merchandise advertised and promoting the sale of same.

Another object of the invention is to provide a sign which can be readily suspended and held in a definite position but which can be readily removed for changing the signs, aswell as a sectional sign in which the separate displays are held so that they cannot be withdrawn except by the removal of the retaining strip thereby preventing accidental removal or displacement.

A further object of the invention is to provide a sign which will appeal to the esthetic nature of the observer and not mar the appearance of the vehicle in which it is located.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawing, wherein:

Fig. l is a perspective illustrating one application of the invention and its manner of use;

Fig. 2, a fragmentary exploded view of the parts forming the sign of the present invention;

Fig. 3, a vertical section;

Figs. 4, 5 and 6 are sections of three typesof card-' retaining division strips which may be used for holding the individual signs against sidewise movement; and

Fig. 7, a perspective of a corner piece.

Briefly stated, the invention comprises a mounting strip for attachment to an object to which the device is applied, said strip having its upper edge bent rearwardly, downwardly, outwardly, and upwardly to provide a flange or hook over or upon which the base or body of the sign is adapted to be supported. The upper edge of the base or body is turned over to provide a hook for cooperation with the hook on the supporting strip, and the base has its bottom edge turned rearwardly and upwardly in a manner to form a trough to receive and retain a sign card. In like manner the ends of the base are turned rearwardly and inwardlytoward each other so that the edges of the sign card may be disposed behind the same. Between such parallel ends of the sign are mounted a series of division strips having side portions beneath which the edges of the sign cards are adapted to be disposed' As shown in Fig. l, five of theese division strips are empiloyed so that six cards can be carried. Obviously a larger or smaller number of division strips may be employed. A finishing strip is provided and is adaptedto fit over the upper edge'of the sign and retain the sign cards in place. The base or body may be provided with suitable fasteners and corner pieces.

With continued reference to the drawing the advertising sign of the present invention comprises an elongated mounting strip 10 having openings 11 for the reception of screws or other fasteners 12. The, mounting strip 10 has its upper edge bent rearwardly, downwardly, outwardly and upwardly to provide a receiving channel 13, the upright extremity 14 of which serves as a flange or hook over which a rearwardly and downwardly turned flange 15 of a sign is adapted to be engaged.

Such sign includes a base or body 16 having its lower edge turned outwardly and upwardly to provide a flange 17 and similar left and right end flanges 18 and19, such flanges 17, 18 and 19 serving to receive the lower left and right-hand edges of sign cards 20. Between the parallel end flanges 18 and 19 of the sign are disposed a series of division strips 21 in order to make it possible to place a plurality of'signs within the frame. The division strips 21 may be of extruded H or other shape and be secured by rivets 22, as shown in Fig. 4, or they may be in the form of channel members 23 secured back-to-back by rivets 22 with a cover member 24 as shown in Fig. 5, or, if desired, division strips 25 may be formed integrally with the sign 16 as shown in Fig. 6.

When the division strips are in position cards 20 will be located between and extend beneath the same and be held against lateral displacement. A cover or finishing strip in the form of an inverted U-shaped channel member 26 may be provided for retaining the cards in position. The sign may have openings 27 which register with openings 28 and 29 in the mounting strip and cover strip respectively and through which screws or other fasteners 30 may be applied for securing the parts in assembled relation.

If desired, corner pieces 31 having openings 32 may be employed for covering the corner with the screws 30 extending through openings 32 in each cover piece. The screws or other fasteners 12 and 30 will extend into the rear of the seat 33 of the automobile.

It will be apparent that the sign of the present invention is simple and inexpensive to produce, is of relatively light weight, can be applied or removed in a minimum of time, and will satisfactorily retain the advertising cards in position. Further, due to the channel 13 being of substantial depth, the upstanding rim 14 will be easily flexed and when the retainer 26 is inserted it will fit tightly within the channel and will overlie the joints between the sign and its support.

It will be obvious to those skilled in the art that various changes may be made in the invention without departing from the spirit and scope thereof and therefore the invention is not limited by that which is illustrated in the drawing and described in the specification, but only as indicated in the accompanying claim.

What is claimed is:

An advertising sign comprising an elongated mounting strip having openings for fasteners by which it may be 3; secured in position, saidnmounting strip having-.a flat portion, its upper edge bent away from said flat portion, downwardly and upwardly to provide an upwardly opening ,channel for. the: SUSPCIISiOIL'JOf .the body, of .a sign,

a substantially flat sign bodyhaving at its upper'edge a downwardly openingportion providing a hookradapted to fit into the channelof said mounting strip for suspending the sign, said body ;having its bottom and side edges inwardly turned to provide sign card receivinggchannels, a plurality of upright division strips dividing the surface of said sign body ,into a plurality of areas, said side edges and division strips terminating ,below the upper edge of said sign body, the said division strips having lateral portions adapted to receive the edges of sign eardsbeneath the same, a finishing strip of substantially inverted UeShQPEd cross section and of a-length to overlie the upper portions of.said sign body and the sign cardstherein and extending transversely of and immediately above the upper ends of said side edges and division strips, and finishing strip, sign body and mounting strip including aligned transverse apertures, and removable fastening elements extending through said aligned transverse apertures for preventing tampering and removal of the signs.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 561,231 Lean et al June 2, 1896 997,254 Hill. July 4, 1911 1,430,980 Gideon Oct. 3, 1922 1,577,350 Otterman Mar. 16, 1926 2,262,058 Sinclair Nov. 11, 1941 2,450,008 Lornholt Sept. 28, 1948 2,517,433 Hoven Aug. 1, 1950 

